


that comes after spring

by softbluemin



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:54:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28307112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softbluemin/pseuds/softbluemin
Summary: Yoohyeon is nearly seven years old when she meets Kim Minji for the first time.
Relationships: Kim Minji | JiU/Kim Yoohyeon
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30
Collections: DC Secret Santa 2020





	that comes after spring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Anchan_thevolleyballplayer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anchan_thevolleyballplayer/gifts).



> To my giftee, hope you have a happy nondescript winter holiday!

i.

In winter, Yoohyeon meets Gahyeon.

The breeze is gentle.

The sunlight even kinder.

She finds Gahyeon just outside the palace grounds, where acres of evergreen wood mark the edge of Hanseong.

Gahyeon, she thinks, is cute.

The young princess is, surprisingly, no older than Yoohyeon herself – a small, little thing not much bigger than the puppy curled up at her side.

And even though trespassing on palace grounds is strictly forbidden, six-year-old Yoohyeon is far too young to fully comprehend the intricacies of royal law and only vaguely understands why she should not be here, and so, there are no formalities to be had, nor courtesies nor bows as Yoohyeon approaches her.

“Is she yours?” Yoohyeon asks, crouching beside her. The other girl only shakes her cutely, lips curved up in a small smile. She pats the puppy and asks if Gahyeon knows its name, to which a tiny Gahyeon pouts, scrunching up her brows and shakes her head once more.

So, naturally, Yoohyeon poses another question. “Should we name her then?”

(They name the puppy “Pie” and play together in the freezing snow. And before they part, they leave each other with a promise that they later keep, to meet again, someday.)

ii.

Yoohyeon is nearly seven when she meets Kim Minji for the first time.

Minji is the daughter of the head of the King's Royal guard, and one of Gahyeon’s closest friends. And despite the fact that their ages and personalities differ, they fit together perfectly; like two pieces of a puzzle, sliding together, always finding reasons to meet and find each other.

iii.

As the years pass, Yoohyeon’s visits become more frequent. Before long, Yoohyeon and Minji are inseparable.

iv.

Minji is pretty. She decides it one day, beneath canopies of the royal courtyard, at the age of ten.

Yoohyeon blinks, light filtering through the leaves, streaks of pale-yellow cascading around her, on her. The trees are tall, looming over her, shades of green overlapping, emerald leaves and dark branches that twist and bend like frozen snakes.

Yoohyeon stretches a hand to the sky, and feels the pillars of sunlight against her skin. She sees Minji, fragmented between her fingers as she stands, hovering above her.

Minji smiles. The world spins. Yoohyeon hums and commits it to memory.

vi

Like clockwork, the years pass like that, Minji and Yoohyeon, together.

And for a while, the world makes sense, until it doesn’t.

vii.

Yoohyeon is almost thirteen when Minji is enlisted.

A conscription notice comes two days before the end of Chuseok, the day Minji turns sixteen. It bears the Royal seal, something written in Hanja – in golden characters that stain the parchment and embroider themselves onto the uniform of the guard that delivers it.

vii.

The months pass. Yoohyeon catches glimpses of Minji, now and then, few and far between – in the training grounds; near the barracks.

And like clockwork, the years fly by.

The world spins, Yoohyeon grows up. She hears Minji’s name in passing but does not allow herself to dwell on it.

viii.

During the next few months, many things change; the Palace is remodelled, guards change among other things. Of these changes, Gahyeon is the most noticeable.

The most prominent, and recent development, much to the princess’ distress – Handong.

ix.

Handong, as Yoohyeon later learns from Yoobin, is new to the Palace, and the daughter of a foreign noble now residing in Hanseong.

x.

In the first few weeks, the Chinese girl is awkward when it comes to adjusting, but despite that, takes to everyone, especially the youngest, immediately.

And for the shortest time, the palace stills.

xi.

Yoohyeon is fifteen when she meets Minji again.

Minji is older, dignified but most importantly, a future captain of the king’s royal guard.

xii.

In the days that follow their first meeting, the world spins a bit faster.

xiii.

Four years pass, Minji and Yoohyeon readjust. And, like clockwork, the rest falls into place.

xiv.

“I could take her in a fight," Siyeon proclaims one night, and her voice is, for the first time, set in a way that almost makes Yoohyeon believe her. Yoohyeon hums, as if it really matters.

She shifts where she sits, pulling at the blades of grass beneath her feet. And somewhere behind them, ever stoic Yoobin laughs. “I wouldn’t hurt her or anything,” she clarifies, “I just think that I could. Captain or otherwise.”

And usually, Siyeon isn’t one to say these things lightly but these past few weeks of training have long since made a mess of Siyeon’s thoughts and soon, the lethargy settles in. And despite herself, Yoohyeon revels in the elder's sleep-drunk thoughts.

“I’ll ask her tomorrow,” Siyeon finishes, “If Bora can come to the grounds too.”

Yoohyeon closes her eyes, takes a deep breath. Thinks of Minji as she drifts into sleep.

xv.

Yoohyeon wakes to a room that smells unfamiliar.

She stretches her hand to the sky. Palm to the ceiling, catching air.

xvi.

The day before princess Bora’s coronation, when Yoohyeon breaks her arm, it's out of sheer pride that she doesn’t tell Minji how it happens. And it’s foolish not to, Yoohyeon supposes, but the head of the Royal guard, has better things to worry about than the minor injuries her girlfriend gets sparring with Siyeon and Yoobin.

She avoids Minji the entire day – she even goes as far as asking Handong to make sure the older girl never leaves the training yard, all in an attempt to avoid bringing it up at all. And, for the most part, it works. Until it doesn’t.

The next morning, when Minji comes to her quarters, she settles onto Yoohyeon’s bed, her frown set in an all too familiar way that tells Yoohyeon _Yoobin told me._ And carefully, Yoohyeon nuzzles into Minji’s shoulder. “I’m nineteen. It's nothing.”

“You’re nineteen,” she says, as if it’s something Yoohyeon hasn’t heard before. She can almost feel Minji’s frown deepen. “Shouldn’t you have known better?”

And truth be told, she knows that Minji isn’t wrong. But soldier or not, Yoohyeon has seen through far worse than a few broken bones.

"If I’d asked them to go easy on me, then they would have,” she says, truthfully, pulling Minji closer. “It wasn’t their fault.”

At that, Minji’s gaze softens. Any other day, Minji would concede at the very mention of their friends but, in the end, she doesn’t waver. And even though she is not upset, she still tells her, in her captain’s tone, that palace guards have no place teaching her what she does not yet need to learn.

And, when all is said and done, Minji leaves her with a smile and a promise to meet the next day.


End file.
